I have to admit that there have been a number of episodes over the course of Buffy's seven seasons that have been disappointments to me. In fact, I found almost the entire of arc of Season 7 to be disappointing (though, Conversations With Dead People is one of my favorites, but Killer In Me pretty much fails at life). I also found much of Season 6 frustrating.
But I think the episode that comes in as my least favorite episode ever is 6.16 "Hell's Bells."
I hated that the writers didn't allow Xander and Anya to get married. I hated that all it took to scare Xander off was a demon who showed him manipulated images of the future. Yes, Xander's dad is an ass and we've seen that a few times within the series itself. However, everything we know about Xander proves that he's strong enough and willing enough to break the cycle of violence. He's a better man than his dad ever was and it was in this episode, that the writers wanted us to believe that he was capable of faltering - even though there was no further evidence besides the visions to Xander taking on an abusive propensity.
I really do think the show could have remained strong and could have retained all its angsty, quirky charm with Xander and Anya as a power couple. I also think that it would have made Anya's death at the end of the show even more heart-wrenchingly awful - and Joss is all about making his death scenes heart-achingly awful.
Stupid writers.
*grumble*
Day 08 – A show everyone should watch
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A show that disappointed you
Day 12 – An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood show
Day 14 – Favorite male character
Day 15 – Favorite female character
Day 16 – Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 – Favorite mini series
Day 18 – Favorite title sequence
Day 19 – Best TV show cast
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite ship
Day 22 – Favorite series finale
Day 23 – Most annoying character
Day 24 – Best quote
Day 25 – A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 – OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 – Best pilot episode
Day 28 – First TV show obsession
Day 29 – Current TV show obsession
Day 30 – Saddest character death
no subject
on 2010-05-28 03:44 pm (UTC)God, I want to go back and watch that now. AWESOME episode.